Dylan fills autobiography with amusing anecdotes
Any book that features Bob Dylan sharing a greasy hamburger backstage with Tiny Tim is going to get your attention - especially when the story is told by the ordinarily reclusive Mr. Dylan himself.

'Shopaholic' continues spending
LONDON - Sophie Kinsella was sitting in a cafe in Wimbledon village, talking about dropping off her young son for his first day at school. She seemed a world away from Becky Bloomwood, the somewhat self-centered fashion addict of Ms. Kinsella's wildly successful Shopaholic novels.

Humor collection has justices on hard court
The reviews of daydreams or beards may not do it. The list of unsuitable baby names might not, either. Maybe it will take the thought of basketball-playing, precedent-setting Supreme Court justices. But something in the collection Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans is guaranteed to cause a chuckle.

Finley, Walker pay off for new teams
LOS ANGELES - Steve Finley thrust his fists in the air as the ball left his bat. His ninth-inning grand slam Oct. 2 beat the Giants and assured the Dodgers' first postseason appearance since 1996.

Game 2 rally resembles the Braves of old
ATLANTA - If you looked closely at what had been going on in Atlanta for nearly two whole games, how a team the Braves had pushed around so regularly in other Octobers was suddenly winning with routine precision, you could see how everything just might turn back around again.

Braves are on the brink
HOUSTON - The Atlanta Braves, winners of 13 consecutive division titles, came adorned with history.

Experts say tech slump will continue
NEW YORK - Jeffrey Saut doesn't need a detailed analysis to get a read on the technology sector - the chief investment strategist at Raymond James Financial Services can get an idea from just looking around his office.

Krispy Kreme to face formal inquiry
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission has escalated its investigation of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. to a formal inquiry, the company announced Friday.

Readers provide even more money-saving tips
After watching her husband, Homer, spend $10,000 on an elephant and $5,000 on a pony and run through the town's entire annual budget for garbage removal in one month, its no wonder Marge Simpson has resorted to saving the family's money in a jar in her tall blue locks.

Insurance regulators expose bias
For a century, it was standard practice at many American insurance companies: When it came to burial insurance, blacks were charged more than whites for the same coverage.

Mays might have gotten too deep into arena mess
Augusta Mayor Pro Tem Willie Mays may have overplayed his hand in his diatribe last week against an agreement with Augusta Entertainment LLC, the corporation wanting to develop a sports arena at the Regency Mall site with money from the proposed $486 million sales tax package.

SEC roundup
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Marcus Randall came off the bench and threw two touchdown passes, including a 10-yarder with 27 seconds to play, to help No. 24 LSU upset No. 12 Florida, 24-21 on Saturday night.

Small school roundup
BOONE, N.C. - Richie Williams scored on a 13-yard run with 35 seconds left in the game to lift Appalachian State to a 30-29 win against Furman on Saturday.

DeMint for U.S. Senate
There are basically eight close U.S. Senate races that will determine which party will control that august body for at least the next two years - and one of them is in South Carolina, where the GOP has a chance to pick up the Democratic seat that's been held for nearly four decades by the retiring Ernest "Fritz" Hollings.

Young amateur gets taste of chasing Asahi leaders
Ya-Ni Tseng made a run at the leaders on the front nine in Saturday's third round of the Asahi Ryokuken International Championship, then slipped back, showing the nervousness of a 15-year-old playing in her first LPGA Tour event.

Golf roundup
SPRING, Texas - Wayne Levi shot 5-under-par 67 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead over D.A. Weibring after two rounds of the Administaff Small Business Classic.

Neumann back in prime spot
It's been more than two years since Liselotte Neumann has been in this position, as a third-round leader. She's missed the excitement of it, but what she's missed more is winning. She hasn't done that in six years.

Tournament officials insist event will return
The hottest topic around Mount Vintage Plantation Golf Club this week hasn't been about who's been playing well, or how 14-year-old area golfer Alina Lee was going to do, or who's going to win the Asahi Ryokuken International Championship today.

Lewis takes one-shot lead in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS - J.L. Lewis is having somewhat of a down year after the best season of his career on the PGA Tour. He's not happy about it, but a few of the guys just behind him in the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas wouldn't mind being in his position at all.

Young breaks loose in win
The Hephzibah sideline called it "ridiculous" and "embarrassing." They watched four, maybe five Rebels defenders try to jump to pin the determination of Glenn Hills tailback Ricky Young.

Irish all smiles after comeback
WARRENTON, Ga. - Eric Stallings placed his head down in the end zone and did what any typical football player would do after a heart-wrenching victory.

Knights capture victory
While Friday night's Effingham County and Evans game didn't have any controversy over radio headsets, the game did have a number of questionable calls that nearly cost Evans the game.

Neumann wins Asahi Ryokuken
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - Liselotte Neumann won her first LPGA Tour title in six years, holding off a late charge by Grace Park for a three-stroke victory at the LPGA Asahi Ryokuken International Championship on Sunday.

Car crash kills soldier, sends 3 to hospital
A Fort Gordon soldier is dead and three more hospitalized after the car they were traveling in Saturday morning careened over a John C. Calhoun Expressway bridge and slammed into several trees.

Freedom robbed in smoking ban
I would like to complain about the fact that we are being deprived of our civil rights in Georgia, no less by people from other states and countries who come here to escape their hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, snowbanks, etc.
David Brown
Martinez

Make Jones next county solicitor
I am asking everyone, Democrats and Republicans, to vote for Harold Jones for solicitor general come Nov. 2.
Charlie Hannah, Augusta

Graduations are not for outdoors
So Dr. Charles Larke and our esteemed Richmond County Board of Education have decided that our high school seniors will once again graduate from stadiums. Students cannot be polled, Dr. Larke states, because invitations need to be ordered and a decision on location needed to be made.
D.L. Stroud,
Hephzibah

Go with Grove for school board post
I have the pleasure of working alongside LouAnne Grove at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, and I witness her dedication to her family, students and profession on a daily basis. She works tirelessly on behalf of the students and our school, and goes out of her way to be positive and supportive of students and fellow teachers alike.
James Bower,
Evans

Dems again show double standard
The news has been filled with articles about George W. Bush's National Guard service. How long did Bill Clinton serve in the Guard that he was supposed to be in? I believe he was in Moscow protesting the war while he was supposed to be at Oxford. At that time they were sending supplies to Vietnam to kill our servicemen.
Don Matthews,
Augusta

Vote Grove for school board
I read in the Columbia County News-Times that Barry Paschal said that school board candidate Michael Sleeper is the son-in-law of Ron Cross, our chairman of the Columbia County Board of Commissioners. Are we going to have one family run county government? Is this an agenda for control?
Chuck Gantt, Evans

Kerry proved he is an unfit leader
After watching the first presidential debate between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, I have concluded that I must be living on a different planet than Kerry, because most of his allegations against Bush and his administration differ from the facts.
Gregory J. Topliff, Aiken, S.C.

Vote no on absurd SPLOST
I was very hopeful when first hearing about the special local option sales tax, and what good it could bring to our community. There are some very worthwhile projects on the list that Augusta could benefit from.
Susan Hensley, Augusta

Comment wasn't meant to slight veterans
Dear Carson: In regards to your column two weeks ago about purple hearts on Band-Aids, you surely didn't mean veterans who have earned the Purple Heart are children wanting us to tend to their boo-boos. I am working with a double Purple Heart veteran and see the scars from the blood and guts he left in Korea and Vietnam. I have assured him that you did not mean anything against our veterans. Please confirm what I told him ASAP or try to defend your way-out-of-line comments. -Vexed veterans nurse

Family replaces home ravaged by termites with custom abode
The Dicksons knew they had their work cut out for them when they decided to renovate their Evans home five years ago. When Gerald Dickson started opening up the walls of the one-story wood house, though, he found more than he bargained for.

It's all about who you know and hope to avoid
Last month, I, along with thousands of fellow Augustans, made my yearly pilgrimage to the Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival. There, I soaked up culture, marveled over weaved baskets and ate meat on a stick.

In the know
If you and your spouse are planning to cancel out each other's votes this election year, The Augusta Chronicle wants to get in on the fun. Are you being mature about it? Are voices getting a little testy? Or are you just ignoring your spouse in an effort to forget about the potentially life-changing mistake they're about to make?

Sweater weather
The sweater, fall's signature garment, is making its way back into wardrobes and out of closets with the texture and warmth for which it's known.

Sludge may get to stay in tanks
AIKEN - A congressional roadblock to a faster, cheaper way of cleaning up millions of gallons of radioactive waste at Savannah River Site was removed Friday when a House-Senate conference committee approved an amendment by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Survey receives canned replies
SAVANNAH, Ga. - Responding to an AARP survey on Social Security and prescription drugs, U.S. Rep. Max Burns and four other Republican congressional candidates agreed so strongly that they gave the same answers - word for word.

Across South Carolina
COLUMBIA - A coalition of teachers, parents, administrators and school boards says it will fight a proposal in the Legislature that would give tax breaks to parents who send their children to private schools or home-school them.

News you can use
OCT. 9, 1942 The school salvage collection drive here yesterday turned up some really "hot" scrap. It seems a lady on the 400 block of Telfair Street gave two live hand grenades to Fred Fulcher, 13, a Houghton School seventh-grader.

Student who brought cookie to stay home
The boy who authorities say provided chocolate chip cookies that sickened eight high school students at Glascock County Consolidated School last week is not allowed to return to class until the incident has been resolved.

Across the area
A Fort Gordon soldier is dead and three more hospitalized after the car they were traveling in Saturday morning drove off a John C. Calhoun Expressway bridge and slammed into several trees.

Court hears appeal over naturalization
ATLANTA - A Cuban man whose U.S. citizenship is under question because he didn't show up for his naturalization ceremony 13 years ago should not face deportation over a paperwork error by immigration officials, his lawyer argued in federal court Friday.

Georgia passes recruiting goal
As American troops are deployed all over the world, recruiting men and women to fill slots in the Army National Guard has been a problem, with recruiters nationally falling short of their goals.

Chancellor plans big changes
ATLANTA - As nearly a hundred students gathered outside the Capitol to protest possible tuition increases last week, many of them stressed the personal nature of the battle over the state's higher-education budget.

Commandments suit has county in debt
ATHENS, Ga. - The Barrow County Commission has scheduled a meeting for Monday to discuss whether the county will be able to continue its fight against an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments display in the courthouse.

Rants and raves
TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA NAACP: As an Augusta resident, I apologize for the ragtag band of rednecks that has gathered outside your convention. Trust me, these men, and I do use that term very loosely because I believe their evolutionary ascent has been stunted, do not represent all in this city who are glad to have you here and hope you feel welcomed.

Across South Carolina
GREENVILLE - A Furman University fraternity has been penalized after an underage student was found drunk on campus, school officials said.

Across the southeast
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - The warden and four other officers at a state prison in Zephyrhills, Fla., lost their jobs after a suicidal inmate from Jacksonville was held naked there for several days, the Department of Corrections confirmed.

Storms improve view of wildlife at swamp
ALBANY, Ga. - Rainfall from three hurricanes has raised water in the Okefenokee Swamp to its highest level in years, forcing snakes, deer and bears to higher ground and offering visitors an excellent chance to spot wildlife.

Data prompt schools to boost safety
GRAY, Ga. - Jones County officials are reassuring parents and pupils that there is no danger after reports surfaced that a computer disc found in Iraq contained information about schools there and elsewhere in the country.

Ban on contractual plan sales may stall
Further action on a proposed crackdown on controversial financial packages peddled at military bases likely will have to wait until after the Nov. 2 elections.

Kid of the day
Today's kid of the day is 6-year old Kacyana Monea Hampton of Augusta.

Across the area
Richmond County sheriff's deputies reported three arrests on the final day of the joint task force to combat disorder at high schools, officials said Friday.

De la Howe marks past as future stays uncertain
McCORMICK, S.C. - Alumni from the historic John de la Howe School will gather today to take horse-and-buggy rides around the pristine campus and huddle over scrapbooks filled with snapshots of their alma mater and its two-century legacy of educating disadvantaged and troubled youth.

School official urges harder courses
More demanding coursework will better prepare South Carolina students for college and beyond, according to a Richland schools official speaking on Day 2 of the South Carolina NAACP's annual convention.

Shots reserved for high-risk patients
AIKEN - South Carolina public health clinics will bar healthy adults from getting flu shots this season in an effort to preserve the short supply of vaccine for those threatened most by complications from influenza, state health officials said Friday.

Police in Wagener seek gun
WAGENER - Wagener police are still searching for the gun they say 32-year-old Kevin Bernard used to shoot at two of their police officers Wednesday night.

Reality show comes to MCG
Achih Chen may face some good-natured ribbing next year when the second season of a plastic surgery-themed reality show airs on the E! network.

Slaying causes Georgia ripples
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - Police were asking for the public's help Friday with identifying eight women whose photos were found in the storage shed of a man who is accused of killing a woman in Alabama and is being investigated in the deaths of at least two others in Georgia.

Butler keeps police patrol
A police task force patrolling five Richmond County schools concluded its three-week effort Friday with 108 total arrests and plans to retain a smaller group of deputies inside George P. Butler High School.

Rants and raves
TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA NAACP: As an Augusta resident, I apologize for the ragtag band of rednecks that has gathered outside your convention. Trust me, these men, and I do use that term very loosely because I believe their evolutionary ascent has been stunted, do not represent all in this city who are glad to have you here and hope you feel welcomed.

Rebel flag rivals could hold talks
Outside the Radisson Riverfront Hotel Augusta, Robert B. Hayes and more than 100 people flying Confederate flags protested against the South Carolina NAACP's Augusta appearance.

DeMint questioned on late taxes
COLUMBIA - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim DeMint was challenged Friday to explain why he failed to pay a property tax bill on time in 2001.

Nemechek gets best of Stewart
Stewart, who has a Winston Cup championship and an Indy Racing League title but has never won a Busch race, dominated all but the last few laps Saturday at Kansas Speedway. But Nemechek reeled him in after a late restart, and Stewart was trying to hold him off when the two made contact in the backstretch with 1 laps to go.

Rookie carries Sun to win
UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Connecticut rookie Lindsay Whalen played with the guile of a veteran Friday night, leading the Sun to a 68-64 victory over the Seattle Storm in the opening game of the WNBA Finals.

Anthony has plenty to prove
DENVER - A disarming smile and skill with a basketball have always helped Carmelo Anthony smooth out the rough spots in his life. Not this summer.

Gay-marriage ban would set poor precedent
It is unfortunate that the subject of gay marriage has to be in the forefront of this November's elections. However, it is. It can affect the lives of many gays and lesbians, and our fate is in the hands of our fellow Georgians.

Gay-marriage ban would set poor precedent
It is unfortunate that the subject of gay marriage has to be in the forefront of this November's elections. However, it is. It can affect the lives of many gays and lesbians, and our fate is in the hands of our fellow Georgians.

Why would a black man support flag?
As a black man who has lived his entire life in the South, I couldn't fathom why a person of color would willingly support the Confederate flag. So, when two Black Confederates came to Augusta this week to protest the city's decision to take down a Confederate flag on the riverwalk, I couldn't resist the opportunity to pick their brains.

Confederate flag is not NAACP's only issue
On Aug. 18, the South Carolina State Conference and the Aiken Branch of the NAACP announced that the 63rd Civil Rights Convention and State Conference would be in Augusta. Since then, we've observed many comments and misconceptions by area newspaper readers regarding our position on several issues. With our conference continuing through Sunday, please allow me this opportunity to clarify some of the concerns.

Confederate flag is not NAACP's only issue
On Aug. 18, the South Carolina State Conference and the Aiken Branch of the NAACP announced that the 63rd Civil Rights Convention and State Conference would be in Augusta. Since then, we've observed many comments and misconceptions by area newspaper readers regarding our position on several issues. With our conference continuing through Sunday, please allow me this opportunity to clarify some of the concerns.

Why would a black man support flag?
As a black man who has lived his entire life in the South, I couldn't fathom why a person of color would willingly support the Confederate flag. So, when two Black Confederates came to Augusta this week to protest the city's decision to take down a Confederate flag on the riverwalk, I couldn't resist the opportunity to pick their brains.

With right approach, county schools can excel
When I was a member of the Nation's Report Card panel setting standards for America's schools, I found a diversity of opinions on what defined a good education, and what people were willing to sacrifice to achieve superior results.

With right approach, county schools can excel
When I was a member of the Nation's Report Card panel setting standards for America's schools, I found a diversity of opinions on what defined a good education, and what people were willing to sacrifice to achieve superior results.

Outdoors calendar
NOTE: All the listed events are open to the public, although membership in some organizations may be required.

Lots of factors could affect this year's harvest
Georgia's chief deer biologist doesn't have a crystal ball. But Kent Kammermeyer doesn't need one to say with relative certainty that the upcoming whitetail season will be drastically different from last year's.

Lewis gets two-game suspension
OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis was suspended for two games by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Faith and friends sustain doctor in face of cancer
When Thomson physician Jacqueline Fincher developed breast cancer, it was a very public illness. Signs appeared on businesses and billboards in the city, saying, "Dr. Jackie, we are praying for you."

Religion News in Brief
ST. LOUIS - Archbishop Raymond Burke sparked a national debate earlier this year by announcing he would deny Holy Communion to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Now, he says there is no justification for voters to back a candidate supporting abortion rights.

'Men' returns real comedy to TV viewing
LOS ANGELES - Two and a Half Men is a success, and why not? The CBS comedy is smartly cast, with Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer as mismatched siblings, one a slick womanizer, the other a hapless nerd. Holland Taylor is their icy mother, and promising young actor Angus T. Jones is the cuddly kid in the middle.

Vols' QBs brace for Georgia crowd
ATHENS, Ga. - The last time Erik Ainge played a road football game, he was a high school senior for Glencoe in the Oregon state playoffs against North Medford. Brent Schaeffer hasn't stepped onto an opponent's home field since his Deerfield Beach squad played at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida's postseason prep tournament.